In the midst of Tokyo's neon-lit night, inside the dim office of a struggling game company, Suzuki Naomi, a dungeon designer, sat hunched over her desk at 3 a.m., working overtime for the fifth night in a row. She was on her fifth monster design of the morning.
"Just a bit more…" she muttered, her voice barely audible as she slumped over her keyboard.
"One last boss attack animation… and I'm done."
She rubbed her eyes, blinking at the monster on her screen. For a second, it looked like it was waving at her.
"Okay… either I've gone full mad scientist, or this goblin is mocking me," she muttered, eyes bloodshot.
The smell of instant noodles and desperation clung to her hoodie like a second skin.
With a final click to save her work, she stretched her arms wide, bones audibly cracking.
"Ahhh! Finally finished!" she cheered, spinning her chair in triumph before standing up.
"Ugh, my back is killing me…"
But just as she made her way to clock out for the day, fate seemed to mock her.
Her foot hit an empty Monster Energy can on the floor.
"Wait—crap!"
She slipped, tumbling backward. Her head slammed into her chair with a sickening thud.
She died instantly.
Maybe she could've survived… if she hadn't been running on caffeine and zero hours of sleep in an exploitative work environment.
Suzuki opened her eyes to a blinding white void, weightless and floating.
"…Seriously?" she groaned, voice dripping with disbelief.
"THAT'S how I died!?"
She clutched at her hair, yanking in frustration.
"You've gotta be kidding me! I just finished the project!"
The void was so aggressively white it hurt to look at. It was like someone cranked the saturation up to 11 and deleted shadows from reality.
"What is this? Heaven's waiting room? A loading screen from hell?"
A chime echoed as a floating system panel flickered into view.
[Thank you for waiting, #93813. Welcome to the Isekai Transfer Service.]
"Huh? Isekai?"
"No way… don't tell me—"
As she reached out toward the glowing panel, an invisible force yanked her downward.
"AAAHHHH! WHY!?"
In an instant, she crashed onto cold cobblestone.
The room was square and dim, lit by flickering torches. A basic wooden throne sat at the center.
She blinked, dusting herself off. "Wait… is this a dungeon?"
She reached for the throne, but before she could touch it, the panel popped up again with a cheerful ding.
[Isekai transfer successful! Thank you for choosing the Isekai Transfer Service. Your personal system will be delivered shortly.]
"Eek! Don't sneak up on me like that!" she snapped, hands on her hips.
Then it hit her—
Wait… a system?
Her eyes lit up.
"Can I become one of those overpowered heroes?!"
The excitement in her voice completely drowned out the fact that she had, moments ago, died in the dumbest way imaginable. She began tapping her foot impatiently, anticipation bubbling over.
"Come on, don't keep me waiting…"
Seconds passed.
Tap, tap, tap.
"…What's taking so long?"
Just as her frustration began to peak, her wish came true—
A glowing interface materialized before her, floating in the air.
But instead of the flashy Hero Summoning or Ultimate Skill menu she imagined… it read:
[Apologies for the delay, #93813. We had to process someone who got run over by a truck. Anyways! Here is your system.]
[Dungeon System Interface – Core Status]
Name: [Unknown Reincarnated Soul]
Title: Almighty Dungeon Boss
Dungeon Level: 1
Floor Count: 1
Core Health: 100%
Resources:
Mana: 3,500 / 5,000
Essence: 25
Dungeon Tools:
Build Rooms: (Available)
Place Traps: (Basic Only)
Summon Monsters: (Tier 1)
Edit Terrain: (Available)
Active Monsters:
Goblin Fighter (Tank)
Green Slime x5 (Crowd Control)
Goblin Shaman (Wizard)
Current Goals:
Stop incoming adventurers (Arrival in: 14 min)
...
Suzuki stared at the system in stunned silence.
"You have got to be kidding me…"
She slowly dropped to her knees, face frozen in disbelief.
"I finally escape my job as a dungeon designer… and my literal afterlife is the same job!?"
Her voice cracked as she let out a dry laugh.
"No SSS-ranked skill? No cheat ability? No hot companion or magical sword? Just… goblins?!"
She slumped forward in defeat, forehead pressed to the cold floor.
"This is a joke, right…?"
Turning her head, she noticed a long hallway stretching into the distance—clearly the dungeon's only exit. She stood and walked toward it, only to slam into an invisible wall.
[As Dungeon Core, you may not leave the dungeon until a certain progression has been reached.]
"…I can't even get some sunlight…" she muttered, then started laughing—softly at first, then full-on maniacal chuckles, the kind only sleep-deprived game devs or freshly reincarnated dungeon cores could produce.
"Wait… adventurers? In 14 minutes!?"
Her eyes widened.
"Are they coming to kill me!?"
Panic gave way to adrenaline. She snapped her attention back to the system panel.
"You know what? Screw it!"
She opened the Build Rooms option and expanded the boss chamber into a much larger, more open arena.
[Spent 1,000 Mana]
"I'm gonna use every bit of modern design knowledge I've got!"
She quickly accessed the Place Traps menu and dropped a basic spike trap just above the entrance—subtle, hidden, mean.
[Spent 500 Mana]
"All monsters to the boss room!" she commanded. "If they're invading my dungeon, they better come prepared!"
A goblin tank waddled in, dragging a comically oversized shield. He saluted with a stubby claw.
"At least you look committed," Suzuki muttered.
The slime squad jiggled in, leaving behind gooey footprints.
"Do I have to clean up after you guys?"
The goblin shaman entered last, staff clacking. It accidentally zapped the wall with a stray spark.
"...You better not be the healer," she whispered.
She grinned, eyes wild, laughter echoing against the stone walls.
"…Okay. I might actually be losing it."
Just then, a loud ping echoed:
[Alert! Intruders detected at entrance.]
[Activate Auto-Defense Mode?]
[YES] [NO]
Suzuki stared up at the dungeon ceiling, blinking back sudden emotion.
"No, system. I've got this."
If her new life was going to be just like her old one, then at least this time…
She cracked her knuckles, eyes narrowed.
"Bring it on, fantasy noobs. This dungeon has patch notes—and I'm the final boss."
This time… she was the boss.